This comedy, set in 1983 in small town Virginia, centers around a 13 year old and her family. The story of a hairstyle gone incredibly wrong and a young girl's plight to fit in while encountering bullies at a new school.
Acting
Arquette and Wilson weaponize parental desperation with tragicomic precision.
Costume
The hair. THE HAIR. A character unto itself.
Writing
Burson's script finds poetry in mortifying middle-class failure.
Director
Colette Burson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Colette Burson based Aurelie's perm disaster on her own childhood trauma—yes, that photo in the credits is real.
The film's 1983 setting deliberately evokes Reagan-era economic anxiety that feels weirdly prescient; Jim's job insecurity mirrors 2017's gig economy fears.
US
